Cushion construction



CUSHION CONSTRUCTION Filed March 21, 193B INVENTOR. ALI-RED p1. l-IAB ER ST U/ \P w/mg.

ATTORNEYfi ented Mar. 25, 1941 UNITED STATES 2,235,878 v cosmos cous'mucrron Alfred H. Haberstump,

Detroit, Mich asslgnor to The Murray Corporation of America, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application Marchitl 5 Claims.

My invention relates to cushion construction and particularly to a seat or back cushion having a resilient surface of varying contours supported by spaced bracing and supporting elements.

Heretofore when employing the sinuously formed wire strips to provide a resilient surface. the strips were anchored in border elements having recesses disposed in or at the same angle to a plane passing therethrough to have the slope strips will assume diflerent arcs so that one endv will provide more resiliency than the other. The

inventive concept includes the use of spaced rigid members which engage and support the border elements in the manner set forth above and which themselves act as a support for the resultingunit assembly. The braces may be joined to each other by elements disposed parallel to the border elements, or may be secured to a unit frame to which cover material may be tacked or otherwise secured. The elements for joining the bracing members may be of metal with tacking material formed therein in the manner well known in the art, or suitably shaped elements could be provided for receiving the edge of the trim material, all of which is well known in the art.

Accordingly, the main objects of my invention are, to provide a seat with a resilient surface, one end of which has greater resiliency than the other; to mount border elements on rigid supporting members in such manner as to support spring strips therebetween to form a surface having greater resiliency at one end than at the other; to provide spaced bracing and supporting means for a seat frame to which the border elements thereof are rigidly secured; to mount an assembly embodying a spring surface secured to spaced bracing elements rigidly on a frame to which the trim material may be secured; to provide bracing means for a seatframe which engages and supports the border element thereof at spaced points and which constitute the means for supporting the unit assembly; and in general, to provide a cushion having greater resiliency at one end than at the other supported by spaced 1938, Serial No. 197,148 (Cl. 155-179) rigid elements which is simple in'construction and economical of manufacture.

Other objects and features of novelty of my invention will be either specifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for a better understanding of my invention to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a broken perspective view of a seat embodying features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a view oi structure, similar to that illustrated in Fig. 1, showing a modified form of my invention;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line 3-3 thereof: and,

Fig. 4 is a broken perspective view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 2 as viewed from the top right corner of the figure.

In Figure l, I have illustrated a seat or back cushion embodying spaced border elements ill and ii which form a means for receiving and supporting laterally disposed sinuous spring strips l2 thereacross. The spring elements are similar to those described and claimed in the patent to Kaden, No. 2,002,399, issued May 21, 1935, under which the assignee of the present application is a licensee. The spring strip embodies in general a length of wire bent into sinuous shape and provided with a set on an arc of smaller radius. For the size of wire and length employed in cushion construction, the are upon which the strip is initially set has a diameter of substantially 'l inches or 8 inches. This initial set in the spring provided material resistance against downward displacement when the ends of the strips are drawn outwardly and anchored to assume an arc of longer radius. When the spring strip is so disposed, a material resistance against deflection is provided which increases with an increase in load providing desirable spring characteristics to the resulting seat or back cushion formed thereby.

A plurality of spaced bracing and supporting members l3 are utilized for retaining the border elements 10 and H spaced from each other in position to support the strips l2 in a predetermined manner relative to each other. The border elements It and H are of unique construction, being similar to that illustrated and described in the patent to Clarence W. Menge, Patent No. 2,175,062, issued October 3, 1939, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

More specifically, the bracing and supporting members 13 in the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, embody channel elements having a base portion l4 and upright end portions l5 and i6 which are flanged to receive the frame. elements In and II respectively. In Fig. 3, the end I6 i curved at H to be inwardly presenting to receive the border element H and have the channel portion l8 thereof presenting inwardly of the cushion substantially parallel to the portion ll of the bracing and supporting member l3. At spaced points the elements l0 and II are provided with recesses l9 produced by the crimping of the side portions 2| of the frame element as illustrated more clearly in Fig. 3. The ends of the spring strip l2 are inserted in the recesses f9 and the sides of the channel element l8 adjacent thereto and preferably flanged together to retain the spring, ends against movement outwardly of the recess and to, be thereby permanently anchored therein.

The tops of the upward end portions l5 of the elements l3 are formed into upwardly presenting channels in which the border element I0 is secured, with the channel portions l8 presenting frontwardly. The front portions of the spring strips |2 form an arched portion 23 above the border element l0 when the front ends of the strips are secured in the channel portions l8 of the element. The arched portion 23 provides a :oft front edge to the cushion, eliminating con- ;act with the border element H) as occurred heretofore when the front edge was constructed in the manner illustrated at the rear edge of the cushion. The spring strips l2 may be retained relative to each other by suitable clips 24 and the endmost spring strips may be anchored to a resilient border element as disclosed in the patent of the assignee company, No. 2,106,644, issued January 25, 1938.

Suitable means may be provided for interconnecting the bracing and supporting members l3, such as'a frame 25, which is herein illustrated made of wood and to which the bracing elements are rigidly secured such as by screws 26. The frame 25 provides means by which the padding and finish trim material 21 may be secured by tacking. It is to be understood that metal strips may be employed for interconnecting the bracing and supporting elements l3 having means for securing the padding and trim material 21 thereto. Such metal strips may encompass an element for receiving tacks or may be formed for receiving and clamping the ends of the material thereon. Such strips are old in the art and are not herein described or illustrated in detail.

Referring to Fig. 2, I haveillustrated a different type of bracing and supporting elements from those employed in the structure illustrated in Fig. 1. The bracing and supporting elements 30 employed in the structure illustrated in Fig. 4, embody channel shaped members presented downwardly having thelcentral portion bowed downwardly and with downwardly extending leg portions 3| and 32. The channel may be flanged laterally at 33 to provide additional strength thereto. The border elements I0 and H are secured directly to the arcuate portions at the tops of the legs 3| and 32 positioned relative to the arc in such manner as to have the channel portion'thereof presented at different angles to a common plane somewhat similar to the disposition of the border elements I0 and H illustrated and described with regard to the structure shown in Fig. l. ,i

The border elements; l0 and H are welded or otherwise secured to the bracing and supporting elements in position to have one edge of the resulting spring surface of greater arcuate c vature than the other as explained hereinabove. The greater arcuate curvature adjacent the leg portion 3| is more clearly illustrated in Fig. 4,

where in the portion 35 extends upwardly from the frame element l0 and curves sharply rearwardly thereof to provide a rolled resilient edge to the resulting spring surface. The legs 3| and 32 on the bracing and supporting element 30 are provided with extending flanges 36 having one or more apertures therein by which the flanges are secured to a tacking frame 25 which is herein illustrated as being constructed of wood, although it is to be understood that metal framing eleeach other, one end of the resulting spring sur-' face has greater resiliency than the other. The frame elements are secured to the bracing and supporting members which in turn have secured thereto means for retaining the edges of the padding and trim material over the resulting cushion. The cushion formed in this manner has a very desirable spring characteristic to the surface and one edge over which the spring strips are arcuately disposed.

WhileI have described and illustrated several embodiments of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that various changes, omissions, additions and substitutions may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, as set forth in the accompanying claims.

What I claim is: I

1. A spring structure for a cushion, embodying spaced frame elements having channel portions therein, bracing means for supporting said elements with the channels of one of said elements presented at a. greater angle to a common plane than the other, and spring strips secured by said elements with one end thereof disposed on an are greater than that at the other end, whereby greater resiliency is provided at one edge of the unit assembly than at the other.

2. In a spring construction for a cushion including, in combination, spaced frame elements having open channel portions and adjacent recesses, bracing members having raised end portions for receiving and supporting said members,

one of said raised portions securing said element with its channel portions presenting upwardly of the frame, the other of said raised portions supporting said element with its channel portions inwardly presenting, and sinuous spring elements having their ends secured in the recess portions of said elements with one edge thereof provided with greater resiliency than the opposite edge thereof.

3. In a spring construction for a cushion including, in combination, spaced frame elements having open channel portions and adjacent recesses, bracing members having raised end portions for receiving and supporting said members, one of said raised portions securing said element with its channel portions presenting upwardly of the frame, the other of said raised portions supporting said element with its channel porti'ons inwardly presenting, sinuous spring elements having their ends secured in the recess portions of said elements with one edge thereof provided with greater resiliency than the opposite edge thereof, padding and trim material secured to said unit assembly, and means interconnecting said bracing members to which said trim material is secured.

4. A spring structure for a cushion, embodying spacedirame elements having channel portions and adjacent recessed portions, spaced bracing members of bowed shape having downwardly projected leg portions at each end, means for securing said elements adjacent to the top of said leg portions to have the channel portions of one element presented inwardly of the structure and the channel portions of the other elemerit projected outwardly therefrom, and sinuous spring strips having their ends anchored in. the recessed portions oi said elements with greater resiliency provided adjacent to one element than at the other. a

5. A spring structure for a cushion, embodying spaced frame elements having channel portions the channel portions oi the other element projected outwardly therefrom, sinuous spring strips having their ends anchored in the recessed portions of said elements with greater resiliency provided adjacent to one element than at the other, padding and trim material encompassing said assembly, and means interconnecting said bracing members to which said trim material is secured.

ALFRED H. HABERSTUMP. 

